Tuesday, November 20, 2018

Officer-Involved Shooting in Jennings Leads to Standoff at Apartment Complex

Police say a suspect is barricaded inside a unit in the Lucas Hunt Village Apartments.

Update 4 p.m.: In a statement released this afternoon, the St. Louis County Police Department released new details on the officer-involved shooting at a Jennings apartment complex.

According to the press release, the incident began around 11 a.m. when an officer patrolling the apartment complex spotted a 46-year-old man who was "wanted for a parole violation regarding a robbery."

The statement continues:

The officer, who was dressed in full department uniform, exited her marked patrol vehicle. The suspect approached the officer and immediately began physically attacking her.

The officer fell down and the suspect started grabbing at her gun belt. After a struggle, the suspect successfully disarmed her of her department-issued Taser. She un-holstered her department-issued handgun and fired at least one shot at the suspect.

At the time of the shooting, it was still unclear if the subject was struck by the officer's shot or shots, but the department now says the unnamed subject managed to escape the incident uninjured. He retreated into the apartment complex and was taken into custody hours later.

Meanwhile, the officer, a six-year veteran on the force, sustained a head injury and was transported to the hospital for treatment.

End of update. Our original story continues below.

A tense situation is developing at an apartment complex in Jennings, where police say a suspect has barricaded himself in one of units after some kind of altercation with a cop. So far, the official details are scant.

According to an email from St. Louis County Police Sgt. Shawn McGuire, an unnamed precinct officer was patrolling the Lucas Hunt Village Apartments around 11 a.m. when she encountered a suspect.

"All we can confirm right now is that a physical altercation occurred between an officer and a suspect, which led to an officer-involved shooting," McGuire wrote. "It is unknown if the suspect was struck, and officers believe the suspect is contained in an apartment within the complex."

Fox-2's Kelley Hoskins reported some additional details. "Shots were fired," she said, after a female officer tried to arrest the suspect. Citing unnamed sources, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that a male suspect first assaulted the cop, who then shot back. The officer reportedly suffered minor injuries.

An aerial view of the scene from Fox-2 shows lines of cop cars massed around the area of Burrwood Drive and Lucas-Hunt Road.

In a tweet, the department said that its Tactical Operations Unit is on the way. Police are asking people to avoid the area if possible.

Please avoid the area of Burrwood Drive and Lucas & Hunt Rd. We have had an officer-involved shooting and the suspect is now believed to be barricaded in an apartment. Our Tactical Operations Unit is headed to the scene to assist. pic.twitter.com/25xhjwHTFM

We'll update this story when we know more. And just to be clear, there is currently no information linking this incident to the manhunt underway for an unidentified shooter who yesterday murdered a woman after sexually assaulting at least one person at a Catholic Supply Store in west county.

Update at 3:20 p.m.: Reporters on the scene from KSDK and Fox-2 tweeted that the subject was taken into custody, ending the standoff after around four hours. A subsequent tweet from the St. Louis County Police Department confirmed that the subject is now in custody.

This suspect has been taken into custody without further incident. Thank you for the continued patience as the investigation continues.